


Return for Refund

by emluv



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Tag, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Gen, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 08:37:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18807604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emluv/pseuds/emluv
Summary: Steve Rogers might have had one more task on his agenda when he traveled back to return the Infinity Stones.





	Return for Refund

 

The being floats over the harsh landscape as the heavens crack open above and light floods the cavern below. He allows himself to drift closer to the edge of the precipice and stare down into the void where the young woman lies broken on the rocks. The man—her companion—has vanished. So, her determination won out over his. She bought him the stone with her sacrifice. 

A curious pair. 

Few found their way to Vormir. In all the long years of his sentence as guide to this place, he has encountered but three others. Each approached alone and so left without their prize, yet even in failure, they thought of the person they would lose if they could in order to acquire what they sought. A soul for a soul. A mighty price, yet any of them would have paid it easily, no matter the pain in their heart. 

But these two. They came with determination but sought the stone for the greater good. Each ranked their own life beneath that goal, but also below the life of the other. He cannot understand that depth of loyalty. The willingness to _be_ the sacrifice rather than simply make it.

He feels the demand of duty, the tug that draws him to the archway above. The stone is gone, yet it appears he must remain, still bound to this desolate planet. Destined to turn away all comers rather than lead them to this altar. And so he floats back through the arch, upward to the highest point of the peak, and waits for the man who climbs the far side of the mountain.

As a name begins to form in his mind, it brings with it a palpable sense of unease. How can this be?

~*~

Steve Rogers hikes through the strange mist of the planet, making steady progress up the mountain. He clutches the case with its precious cargo, the final stone he promised to return to the time and place where it was found. His heart feels heavy; it's the most difficult stage of this mission, the saddest final act of this whole, long, heartbreaking journey. But beneath that heaviness lies a spark of hope, buoyed by the plan he's barely dared to voice, even in his most private moments. He will finish this. He will do right by his friends, by Natasha and Clint, by everyone at risk from any alterations in the timeline. And then, well. He won't think about that quite yet.

The incline tapers and he emerges into a clearing near a high stone archway. Something floats slowly toward him, billowing black robes and a hood pulled low over a concealed face. Steve has a moment to wonder why Clint said he was red before a booming voice echoes over the mountain. 

"Steven, son of Sarah," the figure cries, floating faster now, and Steve knows that voice. He recognizes...

The being throws back its hood, revealing the chiseled face beneath: Red Skull.

Steve stumbles back a step before he can stop himself. "Johann Schmidt." He really should have asked Clint for a better description of the floating red guy. 

"Captain America." It should not be possible for him to sound snide after so many decades, and yet he does. "It is my duty to inform you that you have failed, Captain. That which you seek no longer resides in this place."   

A part of Steve wants to set down the case, take up his shield, and knock this asshole's head from his shoulders, once and for all. But Schmidt's not truly alive, and this planet seems a hellish enough punishment. And Steve has a job to do.

"I'm not here to get the soul stone." He waves the case as he begins to stride toward the archway. "I'm here to put it back."

Schmidt hovers swiftly into Steve's path. "Why would you wish to do such a thing?" he demands. "A sacrifice was made, the stone obtained!"

Steve pauses, heart tightening in his chest. He heard Clint's painful tirade on the permanence of sacrifice. More than once. "We needed the stone for a single purpose. It's done. But time's a funny thing, so I'm returning the stone to where and when it was when we took it. Wouldn't do to fix the universe only to screw it up in some new way." He waits a moment, brows raised. "You gonna move?"

Schmidt flutters out of the path but follows Steve as he continues through the arch.

Steve ignores him, his focus on the place where the ground suddenly drops off ahead. He steps cautiously to the edge and looks down. 

He wasn't certain she'd still be there. He and Clint had gone over the timeline carefully so Steve would arrive on Vormir only after Clint had the stone and was gone. Clint explained how he'd been transported off the mountain, how he came to lying in the water, the soul stone clutched in one hand. There was no way of knowing what had happened to Natasha.  

But there she is, down at the bottom of the drop, still and silent and broken. And while her sacrifice might be permanent, there's no reason why this resting place needs to be. He promised himself that, if she was here, he would send her home.

Steve secures his grappling hook to the top of the cliff and begins to rappel down into the gap, half aware of Schmidt floating curiously above him. He lets himself swing down in long, quick drops, and within minutes he stands at the bottom. 

"Oh, Nat," he whispers, kneeling down beside her. He brushes back the loose strands of hair that came free of her braid, and presses a quick kiss to her forehead. Her skin still feels warm, and it comes as a shock. For him, she's been gone for days, but in this timeline it's likely less than an hour since she fell. 

He fumbles for the control on her belt and restores her special suit, lifting her head carefully so her helmet snaps into place. She still has the Pym particles for her return trip, and he puts them in place so they're ready to activate. Finally, he sets the GPS on her wrist for the day after he left for this final mission. Even if he doesn't make it back, Bucky knows to be there to meet Natasha's body.

Turning away, Steve sets the case on its side and opens it. The soul stone glows softly, almost as if it knows it’s come home, surrounded by five empty slots. Using the special tongs he brought to avoid handling the stones directly, he plucks it from the case and lays it on the bare rock. 

Schmidt drifts lower, closer, watching as the stone begins to vibrate. Around them the ground shakes, bits of rocky debris crumbling off the side of the cliff and scattering around Steve and Natasha. 

"Why would you take such a risk?" Schmidt calls out. “You could have left the stone anywhere. Why climb down for someone who is already dead?”

Steve fumbles with his own suit, checking his Pym particles are in their compartment. "I know the sacrifice is permanent," he shouts up at the red-faced creature. "But I left someone behind once, and I'll never do that again."

As the ground beneath him begins to crack, Steve secures his helmet, then reaches around Natasha’s body so he can activate her suit with one hand even as he activates his own with the other. Faint words drift down after him. “A soul for a…”

His ears pop abruptly as he and Natasha shrink down to the subatomic level and catapult into the quantum realm.

Then Steve lets Nat go.

~*~

For the second time in two days, Bucky Barnes stands out in the woods beyond the wrecked Avengers headquarters with Bruce and Sam, emotions roiling.

He’d been genuinely happy for Steve the previous day. Glad he was finally going to take a chance on love. That for once he’d chosen to be selfish rather than put the entire world’s interests ahead of his own. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t miss him. His Steve, the one who somehow kept finding him, against all odds. His best friend to the end of the line.

This older version’s lived an entire lifetime in the last twenty-four hours. Bucky sat down with him after he gave Sam the shield, and they’d spoken a little. Enough for Bucky to know Steve made the right decision. But his heart aches anyway.

Now they’re standing here again, preparing to bring Natasha home for burial, and it feels like one more heavy, horrible thing to add to Thanos’s ledger. The Avengers killed him in two different timelines, and still it isn’t enough.

“All right,” Bruce tells them, hands flying over the console. “Counting down. Five. Four. Three. Two.” His left hand settles on the lever and draws back. “One.”

The lights flash and a slender figure pops into existence, sprawled on the platform in front of them, arms splayed, head tilted to one side. Sun filters through the trees above, dancing off the contours of Natasha’s helmet. Somewhere a bird chirps angrily.

All three of them stand motionless, staring at the body. Then Bruce drops his chin to his chest and shudders. Bucky doesn’t even have to look at Sam to know he’s probably turned away as well. Which leaves him.

He walks forward slowly. He doesn’t relish the task, but he wasn’t as close to her as the other two men. Besides, if Steve could travel to another planet to send Natasha home, the least he can do is carry her body back to the car so they can take her somewhere to be seen to properly.

Bucky steps up onto the platform and kneels to lift Natasha. As he slides his metal arm beneath her shoulders, she opens her eyes.

~*~

Clint Barton sits on his porch, coffee mug in one hand, cell phone in the other, feet propped on the railing, and listens to his kids rattling around upstairs as they get ready for school.

It had taken time to sort everything out. Kids popping back into existence after five years gone, looking like they did the day they vanished, while half their classmates had aged and moved on. Today will be their first day back.

This is good. Important. Part of getting back to normal life. But Clint’s still not sure he’s ready for them to go. His heart races at just the thought of letting any of them out of sight. Even now, listening to Lila yell for Cooper to stop hogging the bathroom, he feels sick.

Of course part of that feeling might be due to the call he’s steeling himself to make.

Yesterday had been the day Steve was scheduled to return the infinity stones. He and Clint had discussed Vormir in depth, Clint sharing every detail of his experience there with Natasha. It had not escaped his notice how carefully Steve questioned him. At the time, he assumed it was because of the potential for screwing up the timeline. But he’s begun to wonder if there wasn’t another layer to Steve’s mission.

Hope’s easier to hold onto with his house full of family again.

It’s been twenty-four hours with no word. No matter how long it took Steve to return the stones, he should have come back almost instantaneously. Clint’s pretty sure Wilson or someone would have called if there was a problem. But he also thought they’d call if they were planning another funeral.

All _he_ needs to do is call and ask how things went.

Before he can, his cell phone lights up, Steve’s name flashing across the screen, and Clint lets out a sigh of relief. He drops his feet and stands as he swipes his thumb to answer.

“Man, Rogers, am I glad to hear from you. Started to worry things went sideways yesterday. Listen, I keep thinking about all the stuff you asked me this week and, well, please tell me you found Nat. Please tell me you brought her home,” he gets out, his voice growing thicker with every word.

There’s silence on the other end for a long moment, and then a decidedly feminine voice replies.

“He found me,” she says quietly, half-choked with emotion. “He brought me home.”

Clint’s mug shatters on the hard boards of the porch, coffee spraying everywhere. “Natasha?” he gasps. “What? How? I thought…”

“An irrevocable sacrifice,” she whispers. “I know. You can’t use the stone to bring back someone you sacrificed to get it. But a soul for a soul – that must work both ways. No one ever thought to ask because no one imagined someone returning the stone once they took it.” She lets out a small, wet-sounding laugh. “Not that easy to get rid of a pain in the ass, huh?”

“Oh my god, Natasha,” he sputters, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Where are you?”

“HQ. Or what’s left of it.”

He sniffs. “We’re coming. Don’t disappear.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He hangs up and stares at the phone, half-disbelieving, a slow grin overtaking his face. Shards of porcelain crunch beneath his boots, ignored, as he turns and throws open the screen door. “Laura!” he shouts, ducking inside and darting up the stairs. “No school today. We’ve got somewhere to be.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I loved Avengers: Endgame, but I cried. A lot. And while I could understand all the different choices they made, there were a few I couldn't entirely agree with. I've only fixed one here, but it's the one that I thought could be fixed easily within the confines of the choices Marvel made in the film. In my mind, this is what the tag would have looked like if they'd filmed it.


End file.
